Disappointment reigns in Malta's dressing room after they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Luxembourg in stoppage time, at the National Stadium.

Malta, ranked 185 in the FIFA Rankings were far more conservative than they were on Tom Saintfiet's debut against Estonia (0-3), and with Luxembourg pressing high, it looked difficult for the Maltese to up their ante throughout the encounter. 

83rd-ranked Luxembourg threatened on more than one occasion, but they failed to break the lines until the final minute to the heartbreak of the Maltese contingent. 

In this game, Saintfiet handed a debut to defender Jean Borg who featured as a left-back in a four-man backline. 

Valletta's Borg, who will join the U-21 squad ahead of their game against Turkey next week, underlined his happiness for having donned the senior national team shirt for the first time and is really keen to improve on today's performance. 

"Unfortunately, I made my debut in a defeat but I am happy for having made my debut and I am sure I can improve with the help of my team mates," Borg said.

Meanwhile, in his 4-1-4-1 system, the Belgian coach deployed midfield Rowen Muscat as an advanced midfielder in order to profit from his physical structure and attempt to help the Maltese gain the ball quickly.

"We expected Luxembourg to be this strong technically but I think that we had a couple of clear-cut occasions from which we could capitalise," Muscat underlined.

"Nonetheless, we believe in our coach's ideas and we will furthermore friendlies during which we can apply his system better."